Echoes of the Past
by Orrymain
Summary: Daniel returns to the Museum of Art where his parents died for the first time since the incident with the Gamekeeper. Jack tags along and what follows is a combination of tears, anger, and romance.


Echoes of the Past  
  
Author: Orrymain  
  
Author Email: marciastudley@comcast.net (Feedback welcome)   
  
Author Website: http://orrymain.raikiri.net/fanfichome.html   
  
Category: Slash, H/C of the mental kind, Angst, Romance, Established Relationship  
  
Pairing: Jack/Daniel .... and it's all J/D   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Season: 2 - Sept/Oct 1998 - immediately after Bane  
  
Spoilers: The Gamekeeper, Bane (very minor), Need (blink and you'll miss it)  
  
Size: 70kb  
  
Written: October 22-23,27,30, November 5-6,8-9, 2003   
  
Archive: Area52, Comfort Zone, FanFiction.Net, Cartouche, AlphaGate, TheBoy  
  
Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers -- not mine, wish they were, especially Daniel, and Jack, too, but they aren't. This was a whim; all in fun. I don't have anything to do with them legally!  
  
Summary: Daniel returns to the Museum of Art where his parents died for the first time since the incident with the Gamekeeper. Jack tags along and what follows is a combination of tears, anger, and romance.  
  
Notes: Thanks to my betas who always make my fics better: Suzanna, Drdjlover, StarShadow, Tina, Michele!  
  
--  
  
Warning: I've been told this one needs a hanky warning!  
  
--  
  
Echoes of the Past  
  
by Orrymain  
  
Jack was still laughing as he grabbed a beer from Daniel's refrigerator and headed to the couch where he sat against a sofa cushion.  
  
"It's not that funny, Jack."  
  
"Yes, it is. Look at you."  
  
"You don't have to look at all. Excuse me," Daniel sulked as he headed for his bedroom.  
  
"Oh for crying out loud. DANIEL!" Jack called, harshly putting down the beer and following his new lover into the other room.  
  
Daniel had just taken off the soaked shirt and was fumbling with it in his hands.  
  
Jack walked up to him, took the shirt and tossed it on the floor.  
  
"Jack, it needs to go ..."  
  
"It'll be fine," Jack said, scooping Daniel into his arms, "Now, tell me what's wrong. There's no way that you're upset that Teal'c squirted you with a water gun while playing with Ally, even if he did have remarkably good aim. Come on, Love. Tell me."  
  
Daniel sighed. He wasn't looking at Jack. In fact, while he hadn't backed away from his lover of only a few months, he was barely returning the touch.  
  
Jack started to get concerned. They'd had a few problems with Daniel's guilt early on, but since then, life had been pretty darn good by Jack's estimation. Daniel finally looked up and seemed to sense where Jack's concern was taking him.  
  
"No, Jack ... we're fine. I promise. It's ... it's ..."  
  
"Not us?" Jack asked hopefully.  
  
Daniel shook his head and finally leaned into Jack. He was surprised a little because that simple change of position, that small release allowing himself to be cared for, had made him feel better. It amazed him that having Jack's arms around caused him to feel so safe ... but they did.  
  
"So, what's wrong, Love?"  
  
"Mail. I got mail."  
  
"Okay. That ... happens, most every day. What's so different about this mail?"  
  
Daniel pulled out of Jack's embrace and went to the bed and sat down. He was studying the carpet with great fascination.  
  
Jack took the spot next to his love, placed a kiss on his temple as he put his arm at his back, rubbing it as if to offer support. Jack didn't say anything. He knew Daniel would tell him when he was ready. The young man was simply processing, not used to sharing so much of his life with anyone.  
  
After a few minutes, Jack thought maybe Daniel needed more space. He considered the pros and cons of trying to push him.  
  
"Danny, whatever this is, it's not about us?"  
  
Daniel again shook his head.  
  
"And ... does it in any way put you in harm's way, and you know what I mean about that, so no hedging and no cutting corners?"  
  
"No, it's nothing like that."  
  
"Okay, Love," Jack said, rising from the bed and heading towards the door, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Why don't you put on a new shirt and then we'll go get some Chinese," Jack said as a statement, not a question.  
  
"Chinese?"  
  
"Yeah ... you like Chinese, don't ya?"  
  
Daniel blinked a few times as he stared as his best friend turned lover. He stood and walked to him. Bringing his hands up, Daniel cupped Jack's face, his fingers gently caressing the cheeks.  
  
"You don't like Chinese very much."  
  
"But you love it."  
  
"I love ...," Daniel hesitated.  
  
He still wasn't very good at expressing his love for Jack unless Jack said it first, but then he realized, Jack had said he loved Daniel, as soon as he gave him space, and again, when he suggested the Chinese meal. The young man smiled, "I love you, Jack."  
  
"Love you, too. Hurry up. I'm hungry," Jack kissed his love and turned to go back to the living room, picking up a magazine that was sitting on the coffee table to peruse while he waited.  
  
"Jack?"   
  
Jack turned and saw Daniel, now dressed in a blue plaid shirt, standing a few feet away. In his hand was an envelope.  
  
"You ready?" Jack asked, ignoring the letter.  
  
Daniel glanced down and shook his head, "It's an invitation to a lecture."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And it's in New York."  
  
"Okay ... and?"  
  
"And the keynote speaker is one of my Anthropology professors. I guess you could say he was my favorite."  
  
"And you were his pet pupil no doubt."  
  
Daniel shrugged, which meant a definite yes.  
  
"So you want to go ... and the problem with that is ...?"  
  
"Well ... two things really. I mean, I'm not exactly considered part of Academia anymore. They all think I'm a crackpot. No one knows what I'm doing, and I know they can't, so if I go, it means ... I mean I ..."  
  
"It means walking into a room where everyone thinks you are crazier than Daffy Duck, and when they ask you what you're doing, all you can say is ... reading books ... or whatever."  
  
Daniel nodded, still standing in the exact same place as he had been when the conversation began.  
  
"And the second problem?"  
  
"New York."  
  
"Big city. You've been there a lot."  
  
Daniel fidgeted, again finding the carpet more fascinating than any artifact, and suddenly, the light bulb in Jack's mind went on.  
  
"Where in New York, Danny?"  
  
"Museum of Art."  
  
"Ah Danny," Jack said, losing no time getting to his lover and taking him into his arms.  
  
"I've been there many times. I mean, I used to go there all the time ... right there ... where it ... where the stone ... I went there all the time," Daniel's breathing hitched.  
  
"It's okay, Danny. I know," Jack said softly into Daniel's ear, knowing how hard it had to be for anyone to go back to the place where as a small child they had witnessed their parents being crushed to death by a large cover stone.  
  
"Jack, it's just ... I haven't been there since ... since ..."  
  
"The Gamekeeper."  
  
Daniel nodded, burying himself as much as possible into the security of his lover's haven.  
  
"It's just ... over and over. It brought it all back, made it so real again. You've helped me to remember them, Jack, the way we talk about them sometimes, but ... I don't know."  
  
Jack's hold on his lover tightened, sensing a need on Daniel's part to feel safe. The older man placed a quick kiss on his partner's forehead as he continued to listen.  
  
"I want to remember them as they were, when they were alive, not be reminded of how they died, like I could ever forget that stone falling on them in front of my eyes. You've helped me get that image out of my head, to think of the happy times and how much they loved me.   
  
"They were so happy together. Jack, my parents loved each other. They were always together. And they were good people, too. They deserve to be remembered for how they lived, and not how they died, especially by their only son."  
  
Daniel sighed loudly, "I just don't know if I can live through that nightmare again, to see it up close. I'd like to go, but ... I mean I ..."  
  
"So when is this lecture?"  
  
"Next week. We were off-world when the invitation came, and then I ... I guess I just didn't want to think about it."  
  
"Okay, when do you want to go? We need to make reservations."  
  
"We?" Daniel looked up at the man he loved with all his heart.  
  
"We," Jack smiled reassuringly.  
  
Daniel's smile was big and wide, and Jack suddenly found himself kissed to the max!   
  
"Jack ... you'll be bored."  
  
"No, Love. I'll be a happy man, because I'll be with you. But I'm starved. Can we go get that Chinese now?"  
  
"Pizza, Jack. I want pizza!"  
  
Jack smiled. How he loved his archaeologist slash anthropologist slash linguist slash everything!  
  
====  
  
"But General ..."  
  
"I'm sorry, Colonel, but your presence is required here. I can't spare you. It's that simple."  
  
"General, it's because of that da... I mean, it's because of that meeting with the Brass, isn't it?"  
  
"They want you there, and I need you there to represent the best interests of this facility. You're my 2IC, Jack. What you think matters."  
  
"General, it's hot air, stuffed shirts, the Joe Schmo guys and you know it. It's just two days."  
  
"Two days plus the weekend, Jack ... that's four days. Don't play smart with me, Colonel."  
  
"I ... apologize, Sir, but what is so dang important about the pencil pushers that I have to be here? They aren't discussing the Goa'uld. They'll be talking about ... how much toilet paper to buy."  
  
"Colonel, my decision is final."  
  
"Géneral ..."  
  
"Jack ... I see Dr. Jackson requested the same four days off. I've granted his request. Can I assume your request ties into his?"  
  
"Sir, Daniel's been asked to some scientific shindig, and I ... well, it's just ...," Jack flinched, not sure what to say or how to say it, "Sir, you remember what the Gamekeeper did to him, recreating the image of his parents death over and over again?"  
  
"Jack, Dr. Jackson can take care of himself. I understand you're his friend and he's part of your team, but you're needed here."  
  
"General ..."  
  
"Dismissed, Colonel."  
  
"Yes, Sir."   
  
====  
  
"I'm sorry, Danny. I couldn't change his mind."  
  
"I know you tried, Jack. Maybe ... maybe I just shouldn't go."  
  
"Danny, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to, but you've talked about that professor before. I know you'd like to see him again."  
  
"Yeah, but it's not him. It's not even the Museum. It's ...," Daniel sighed.  
  
"Daniel, you are worth ten of those idiots easy. You go, and you hold your head up high, because you know the truth, and the truth is that you are right. The joke's on them. Don't let them win. Don't let them stop you from doing something you want to do.   
  
"Now ... if you really don't want to go, then you stay here, and I'll love you something silly all weekend, but if you want to go, then you go with pride, with the knowledge that you are worthy of their time and their respect."  
  
Daniel's love for Jack grew again. It always amazed him. Just when he thought he couldn't love him more, Jack would do or say the perfect thing, and Daniel's heart would soar with more love than ever for his partner in life.  
  
"I'll miss you," Daniel conceded, deciding to go on the trip without his lover.  
  
"Yeah," Jack looked around the room for a second before glancing at his lover again, "I'm sorry, Love."  
  
"It's not your fault. It was short notice. Besides, I can go alone ... take care of myself," Daniel said, arms folded as he walked towards his balcony.  
  
Jack sighed and thought quietly, "... but I want to take care of you, Danny ... don't you understand that?"  
  
Daniel was putting up the wall, not one Jack built, but that "I'll always be alone" shield, the "I don't need anyone" armor, and Jack's heart ached.  
  
"You are so not alone anymore," Jack said inwardly as he headed to the balcony to hold his lover.  
  
====  
  
Daniel rarely felt so unwelcome ... or uncomfortable, but circling the room full of colleagues, he felt like the proverbial fish out of water.   
  
As he studied some photos taken of an Aztec shrine recently discovered in Mexico, Daniel suddenly heard his name. He looked up and around, but no one was talking to him, but he did see a group of three men standing a few feet away huddled in a conversation. Their voices carried through the air.  
  
"I can't believe he actually showed up."  
  
"I can't believe he had the nerve to ever suggest his theory in the first place. Honestly, aliens and pyramids that are what ... landing docks for spaceships?"  
  
The trio laughed, not an ounce of understanding in their tones.  
  
Daniel looked back at the photographs and then slowly walked to another part of the large exhibit hall. He found a display of ancient relics unearthed at a dig in Peru, and glanced over the notes and comments of the anthropologists who had studied the ruins and the finds. He sighed at the errors in their assumptions, and not realizing he spoke verbally, said "This is wrong."  
  
"And I suppose you have proof?"  
  
Daniel turned to see Christopher Sumners who had been on a similar fast track through Academia as Daniel had, and yet, both had come to completely different conclusions.  
  
"Hello, Christopher."  
  
"Daniel. I'm surprised to see you here. You've been incommunicado for a few years now."  
  
"Yes, well, I was invited."  
  
"Every day brings a new surprise."  
  
Daniel was tempted to say something sarcastic in reply, but he really didn't want to get into a disagreement if he could help it, so, arms folded, he returned his attention to the display.  
  
"How do you know it's wrong?"  
  
"Because it is."  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."  
  
The 5"11" inch red-head laughed, "I see. Just a cover. You act like you know everything, but you don't know anything. Do us a favor, Daniel, call one of those spacecrafts and tell them to pick you up at the top of Pyramid Runway B ... and don't come back."  
  
Sumners turned and walked away. Daniel couldn't help a small chuckle at Sumner's attempted jab at his theory. His supposed colleague was so close to the truth, and yet couldn't accept it.  
  
Daniel headed for the first scheduled lecture, and took a seat in the back row, silently hoping everyone would just leave him alone.  
  
====  
  
"General, this is crazy. These bumbling, inept, ridiculous sessions aren't going anywhere. They're just prattling on about ... storage space and ... and did you hear what that so-called ..."  
  
"Jack ... get out."  
  
"Out, Sir?"  
  
"Yes, Colonel ... out ... NOW!"  
  
"Would that be out of your office, or out of the SGC, or ..."  
  
General Hammond was sick and tired of dealing with his 2IC. Over the past 24 hours, the Colonel had whined, complained, moaned, groaned, and argued through every meeting, droning through technicality after technicality. Not one phase of the agenda had been completed on schedule.  
  
Hammond bemoaned the fact that he couldn't fault Jack because, technically, every "whine" and "complaint" had been justified. Normally, however, the things Jack had picked on were the usual bits and pieces of red tape that went overlooked or saved for other staffers of lower rank to cover.  
  
Jack had been at his finest sarcastic self as well, never crossing the line, but teetering on the fence with a skill befitting a trapeze artist.  
  
To top it off, in between meetings, Jack had decided that General Hammond should be privy to every little detail of the proposed changes, that he should be aware of all the appropriate background information right down to the must mundane, and finally, Jack picked the perfect moments to rant and rave about the ineptness of the participants in the meetings.  
  
Hammond had to admit defeat. Jack O'Neill wanted to be in New York, and if he couldn't be there, he was going to make everyone around him as miserable as he was, and the General was in no mood to be miserable.   
  
Hammond gave his 2IC one final look as he clarified his position. Jack O'Neill had saved the planet, and the Major General decided that all things considered, he could understand why that man wouldn't want to be part of the decision making process about how many rolls of toilet paper should be kept in each storage closet of the SGC.  
  
  
  
"It means get away from me, my office, and my base. I don't want to see you back here for ... 72 hours. Is that understood ... Colonel?"  
  
Jack's grin was huge, but seeing the Major General's intense glare, it shifted to a smug look of fake rejection.  
  
"Yes, Sir. I'm going now ... Sir ... out of here ... out of your office ... definitely going ...," Jack backed out of Hammond's office.  
  
"GO, COLONEL!"  
  
"Yes, Sir ... never let it be said that Colonel O'Neill can't follow an order."  
  
"JACK!"  
  
Jack slithered out of Hammond's office and whistled as he hurried down the halls of the SGC.  
  
====  
  
A few hours after the run-in with Sumners, as the last speaker of the day finished, Daniel stopped to review the schedule, debating on whether or not he wanted to attend the evening festivities. He didn't see the group of three, two women and one man, who were gathered on the other side of the door.  
  
"Did you see that looney tune?"  
  
"Dr. Jackson?"  
  
"How did he ever get a degree anyway?"  
  
"Maybe he knows someone. He's a joke, an insult to Antropology."  
  
"Any idea what he's been doing?"  
  
"Who cares?"  
  
"I doubt anyone does, but obviously he's been somewhere, or he wouldn't have been invited here this weekend."  
  
"I think he knows one of the speakers."  
  
"Oh, a sympathy invitation."  
  
"The sympathy should go to all of us who have earned our titles. Having DOCTOR Jackson here belittles us."  
  
"He's a disgrace to the entire community."  
  
"I'll second that."  
  
"And I'll third it, and speaking of thirds, how about we third a check. I'm hungry."  
  
Daniel's head hung low as he waited for the gossipers to move away from the door. Silently, his heart and soul crying from his painful hurt of the day, Daniel headed for his hotel, having no desire to attend any of the nighttime events that had been scheduled.  
  
  
  
====  
  
Jack finished unpacking his bag and then went in search of his lover. He had arrived in New York City only an hour earlier. A call to Daniel's room went unanswered and wanting to surprise him, Jack didn't leave a message.  
  
It was 7:15 p.m. and since Daniel had left him a copy of the schedule, Jack knew there weren't any exhibits or lectures going on at the moment. He remembered something about a cocktail party, but Daniel hadn't expressed a desire to go to that.  
  
Just in case, though, Jack wore a nice pair of black pants with his cream colored long sleeve shirt and a black jacket. He walked down the stairs of the quaint hotel that sat across from Central Park. It really wasn't that close to the museum, but Daniel hadn't wanted to stay at the hotel sponsoring the event, figuring he'd need some space from his colleagues.   
  
Jack roamed the hotel for a while, ending up in the lobby. He had tried again to call Daniel's room, but still there was no answer. He fidgeted with some pamphlets he had picked up as he stood, scanning the lobby and its exits.  
  
"Can I help you, Sir?" a cute twenty-ish blonde asked.  
  
Jack had noticed her earlier. She was perky, had a big smile, and seemed to be interested in everyone and everything. He wasn't exactly sure of her role at the hotel, but he'd seen her walking behind the desk lobby and in and out of various rooms, including the restaurant.  
  
"I was looking for a friend of mine ... Dr. Jackson. I don't suppose ..."  
  
"Oh ... Daniel," the young woman gushed, "Yes, he's staying here."  
  
"I know that. I just don't know where to find him. I called his room and ..."  
  
"Daniel went for a walk," the blonde motioned toward the door.  
  
"He did?"  
  
"Can I ask you a question?"  
  
Jack stared without answering.  
  
"Is he married? I mean ... he's so cute and friendly. He really should be married. Is he?"  
  
Jack had never been asked that before, and he discovered he wasn't sure how to answer it.  
  
"Yes, but they're ... she's ... "  
  
"Oh, I'll bet she doesn't understand him. He's so sweet and sensitive. Helped me with a problem I was having with my parents. He needs some TLC, and I think ..."  
  
Jack watched as the outgoing gusher rambled on an on about his lover. She seemed confidant that Daniel was worth fighting for, that he needed to be loved, that it was obvious he had been hurt, and she was sure she could help him through his difficult time of "discomfort and emotional pain" as she had called it.  
  
"Over my dead body," Jack thought to himself, debating on whether or not to say anything to quiet the talkative blonde.  
  
Jack decided it was best not to say anything since he was sure if he opened his mouth he'd tell the lusting blonde exactly where she could stuff her lust, so he just smiled until he couldn't take another word, finally interrupting, "You don't happen to know where he went for his walk, do you?"  
  
"The park, Sir."  
  
"It's a big park," Jack sighed.  
  
"He went to the right ... over toward the Wildlife Center."  
  
"Thank you," Jack said politely as he left the smiling blonde behind.  
  
Twenty-five minutes later, Jack finally found the object of his affection, arms folded, staring at the grass behind a bench that was located several yards away from the Wildlife Center. Jack's heart saddened. The man he loved didn't look like he was having a good time ... but Jack vowed to change that.  
  
He wasn't trying to be quiet, but Daniel was so within himself that he never heard his lover approaching until Jack's hands slid around his waist. Daniel startled. He started to pull away except ... those hands ... they felt ...  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"Hey."  
  
Daniel did a one-eighty in total disbelief, staring into his lover's eyes as if sure it was a dream, and he wasn't really there.  
  
"I'm real. Is that what you're trying to figure out with that brain of yours?"  
  
"Jack? How?"  
  
"I drove them crazy, absolutely crazy. It was wonderful!" Jack spoke with a gleam in his eye, completely proud of his success of being evicted from the base.  
  
Jack laughed at his gaping partner and finally kissed him, long and hard, pulling Daniel as close to him as he could. Daniel moaned as his hands grabbed hold of Jack's jacket.  
  
"Told ya -- completely real," Jack smiled when the kiss ended.  
  
"Geez, Jack," Daniel leaned in against him, and then suddenly, the younger man pushed away.  
  
"Jack ... we're ... I mean," Daniel looked all around.  
  
"It's okay, Danny. It's the Big Apple. No one cares here. C'mere," Jack reached out and pulled Daniel back into him.  
  
"Did you eat, Love?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Geez, Danny, what would you do without me?"  
  
"Hmm ...," Daniel had intended to say something snarky, the words forming as he opened his mouth, but in the end, he opted for the truth, "I'd be miserable."  
  
Jack kissed Daniel under the moonlit night. The Wildlife Center had closed hours ago so there weren't many people around, and those that were, could care less about two men kissing in Central Park.  
  
The two had a nice steak dinner at the hotel restaurant, happy that they had been given a corner table which had given them some privacy allowing for small, covert touches and glances as they small talked their way through their meal. They enjoyed a fine wine as they chatted about things such as what Jack had said and done to get Hammond to kick him out, places to go in New York, how their flights were, etc.   
  
As they headed for the elevator, they crossed paths with the gushing blonde.  
  
"I see you found him," she smiled.  
  
Daniel looked confused.  
  
"This ... young lady was the one who told me you were in the Park and what direction you had headed."  
  
"Oh, thanks, Jill."  
  
"Anything for you, Daniel. I'll see you later."  
  
Jack shook his head as the two reached the elevator.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Anything for you, Daniel?" Jack mocked, "Is there something I should know? Maybe I should make myself scarce tonight so you two can be alone," he chuckled knowing that his partner wasn't even aware of the girl's interest.  
  
"Jack ... I ... She's just ... I mean ...," Daniel stuttered.  
  
"She likes you."  
  
"She likes everyone. That's her job, Jack."  
  
"You're in such denial, Daniel."  
  
  
  
Daniel rolled his eyes as they entered the elevator, "Jack?"  
  
"Your place or mine, Dr. Jackson?"  
  
Daniel shrugged, "I just want ... I ..."  
  
"Your place."  
  
Daniel pressed the appropriate floor.  
  
"Cool. We're on the same floor."  
  
As it turned out, totally by coincidence, their rooms were next to each other.  
  
"See, Love ... it's fate ... you and I!"  
  
"It's just a fluke, Jack."  
  
"A fluke of destiny," Jack said holding his lover close, "So, you gonna tell me all about it?"  
  
"Later."  
  
"What's wrong with now?"  
  
"I have ... plans," Daniel smiled, his hands sliding off Jack's jacket, tossing it over to a chair, and then pulling out Jack's shirt from his pants.  
  
"Oh ... I could go for that," Jack said.  
  
And he did ...  
  
====  
  
Jack awoke a few hours later in the hotel bed, his arms melding with the soft skin of his lover's back, his chin nestled in the long, silky brown strands of Daniel's shaggy hair.  
  
"Life is good," Jack said softly.  
  
"This is anyway," Daniel responded, taking Jack by surprise.  
  
Jack placed a gentle kiss on Daniel's hair, "Ready to talk about it?"  
  
"It was awful. They think I'm a nut case. The professor was great, glad to see me, supportive, understanding, even though I couldn't answer his questions about what I'm doing. But the others ... they just stared. I could hear them ... talking about me, not realizing how loudly they were speaking."  
  
Jack silently thought, "Or they did know, and were doing it intentionally."  
  
"Did anyone say anything to you?" Jack tried to ask casually, knowing he was preparing to break a few legs if necessary.  
  
"Jack, don't."  
  
"Don't what?"  
  
"You're not going to hurt anyone, so stop thinking about it."  
  
"How'd you know what I was thinking?"  
  
"I don't know ... I just did."  
  
Jack smiled. Sometimes he knew what his lover was thinking too. They had always had a strong bond, a connection that seemed to go beyond the normal, even when their relationship was based strictly on being friends. Sometimes, they would finish each other's sentences, or seem to talk in phrases, not paragraphs. Since they'd become lovers, this strange telepathic-like link seemed to be growing.  
  
"Weird isn't it? Sometimes Danny, I swear ... I just ..."  
  
"Hear me? The way I hear you?"  
  
"Yeah. Do you understand that?"  
  
"No. I don't ... I never know what you're thinking when you're just ... thinking, but when you're ... I mean, when ..."  
  
"When I'm talking to you in my mind?"  
  
"Yeah ... I hear that sometimes."  
  
"Yeah ... me too. Crazy ... it's just crazy."  
  
Daniel was silent as Jack rubbed his back.  
  
"Danny? I said crazy ... but I love it. I love being so tuned in to you and your brilliant mind. I just don't ... understand it."  
  
"Me either, but I ... I like it too, Jack."  
  
"Danny, you're better than all those wannabes. You know that, don't you?"  
  
Daniel shifted in response.  
  
"They're jealous, that's all."  
  
"Jack, they don't know I'm right. They think I'm broke, unemployed, and clueless about everything. And no, it's not okay, but there's nothing we can do about it in one weekend, and I don't want you ... you know."  
  
"Being adorable?"  
  
"Threatening them."  
  
"I'll try my best not to."  
  
"Jack!"  
  
"Okay, okay. Geez, Danny, what is it you think I'd do anyway?"  
  
"I don't know. I just know you'd do something."  
  
"I love you."  
  
Daniel looked up and gazed into his heart's eyes, "And don't you see, Jack, that's why it's okay. You know the truth, and so do I. In the end, it doesn't matter what anyone else believes."  
  
"Geez, I love you."  
  
"Show me."  
  
... And Jack did.  
  
====  
  
Jack stared at his clothing choices. The biggest part of him desperately wanted to wear his dress blues. Surely, wearing his uniform couldn't be considered threatening. After all, Daniel loved Jack's look when he dressed in his Air Force duds.   
  
He had brought his uniform to impress, not Daniel, but the so-called brains of Academia. Somewhere in the back of Jack's mind, he had an image of walking into the lecture hall at Daniel's side, dressed in his uniform, with his sunglasses on "for effect," Jack smiled.   
  
Jack could visualize the intimidation factor. Academia would go crazy wondering why their "outcast" was worthy of an Air Force escort, and Jack would be at the top of his game making them shutter with fear and envy.  
  
Jack knew he could do it, put those jealous snobs, as he thought of them, in their place. A wicked smiled appeared on his face as he began to put on the uniform, but then he sighed, swore something indistinguishable, and replaced the Air Force blues with the same black suit he had worn the night before along with a basic white shirt.  
  
Daniel had asked Jack to "behave," and Jack loved Daniel, so he'd go along, but Jack also reserved the right, in his own mind, to change if those jealous Dr. Jackson wannabes caused his lover much more anguish.  
  
He had returned to his own room an hour ago while Daniel showered and dressed. Jack wasn't fond of leaving his lover, but he had to admit that Daniel had been right. They had made love twice last night and odds were, the shower would have been number three, and they'd never make it to the museum.  
  
Jack was just putting on his shirt when the younger man knocked on the door.  
  
"Geez, Jack, I thought you'd be mad at me for taking so long," Daniel said as he leaned in for a kiss, his hands reveling in his lover's chest hairs, something that had proven to be strangely exciting for Daniel.  
  
"I was ... debating."  
  
"I'm glad you made the right choice."  
  
"It wasn't easy, Love."  
  
"This is not fair, Jack," Daniel said his eyes focused on Jack's hairy chest, his fingers traveling through them erotically.  
  
"We ... could stay here."  
  
Daniel sighed and then let his fingers do the walking ... to the shirt buttons, fastening each button except for the top three.  
  
"No tie?"  
  
"Na huh ... I ... I like you like this," Daniel said his right hand fondling Jack's skin through the open part of the shirt.  
  
"Gawd, I love you," Jack said as he pulled Daniel to him for another kiss, and then the two finally headed for the museum.  
  
====  
  
Jack watched his lover talking with various guests at the first lecture of the day. His blood pressure rose frequently as he discerned some of the flippancy and contempt addressed towards his love. He wanted to murder the entire room ... except for Daniel's professor who had been extremely nice and cordial.  
  
Jack managed not to fall asleep during any of the lectures, and he humored his lover as Daniel explained just about every piece and photograph that was on display. In fact, Jack knew that the younger man was talking even more than normal, and for a while, Jack was willing to let him avoid the real issue.  
  
Finally, toward the end of the afternoon, as Daniel was going on and on about an Egyptian sculpture, Jack grabbed his lover's hand, led him to a corner where no one was near, and said quietly, "Show me."  
  
Daniel fidgeted, but before he could try to evade what they both knew Jack had asked, the older man again said, "Show me, Danny. It's time."  
  
Daniel looked down a hallway and back at Jack and nodded. His arms folded, and staying a few steps ahead of Jack, Daniel walked towards the part of the museum where Daniel's parents had died. As soon as they entered the area, Jack recognized it from the incident with the Gamekeeper.  
  
Daniel's eyes were transfixed, staring at the spot where the huge cover stone had fallen, crushing his mother and father to death. He had been only eight years old when it had happened, and in that moment when the stone had dropped in front of the watchful young eyes, Daniel's life had been forever changed.  
  
Jack stood back, giving his partner plenty of room. He never took his eyes off of Daniel, prepared to move at a second's notice, a second that said "rescue me."  
  
The young man eventually walked to the exact spot where his parents had been standing. He looked up towards the ceiling, his knees weakening as he relived the moment yet again.   
  
Jack was closing in, his internal Daniel alarm beginning to blare.  
  
"Jack."   
  
It was spoken softly, almost whispered, but in a flash, Jack was there, his arms providing Daniel's much-needed safe haven.  
  
With Jack there to hold him up, Daniel felt a renewal. He wasn't ready to leave. He needed to be where he was, to feel the moment, and to let go, if he could.  
  
"I couldn't save them, Jack," Daniel whispered, "There was nothing I could have done."  
  
"You were a little boy, Danny. They loved you."  
  
"Why, Jack? Why were they so careless? Mom saw it. She knew something was wrong, but she let Dad calm her, and then it fell. It fell and ... and then ... why, Jack?"  
  
"Because they were young, and like all of us, they thought nothing could ever happen to them. They thought they were invincible, that their world was safe."  
  
"But it wasn't. They left me alone."  
  
Jack's hand caressed Daniel's back in firm motions, "They loved you. Danny, don't you know they're kicking themselves ... wherever life goes from here? They lost out on being a part of their little boy growing up, and they know what you've been through. Believe me, they know what they did, and if they could change it, they would. They loved you."  
  
Daniel leaned his head against Jack's shoulder, "I loved them, too."  
  
"They know that. They made a choice, and it turned out to be a costly one. I wish I didn't know what that was like, but I do."  
  
"Gawd, Jack. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean ...."  
  
"No, listen. Daniel, I left my gun in a drawer, something I rarely did. If I hadn't been so anxious to ... to be with Sara when I got home the night before, it wouldn't have been there. It was a costly choice, and all I can do is pray that somehow Charlie understands that I'd give anything to take back that choice ... and that, Love, is how I know your parents would do the same thing, if they could."  
  
"I used to come here all the time, replay it over and over, just like the Gamekeeper, trying to find the solution, trying to understand ... but I guess ... gawd ... I guess there's nothing to understand, is there? It was just ..."  
  
"Just an accident, Danny ... a regrettable, tragic, stupid accident that cost two young adults their lives, and an innocent young boy his childhood."  
  
Jack kissed Daniel's temple as the young man took another deep breath.  
  
"There aren't any answers, are there?"  
  
Shaking his head, Jack answered, "No."  
  
"Just a mistake ... a dumb mistake ... a bad choice."  
  
"A bad choice," Jack repeated.  
  
"I love them, Jack."  
  
"I know, Danny."  
  
"It was almost like they were in a hurry. They kept pushing me out of the way."  
  
"They probably had a schedule to keep."  
  
"I guess so."  
  
"I found her glasses over there," Daniel pointed to a spot along the edge of the wall near a doorway, "I think a paramedic must have taken them off and tossed them out of the way, but I saw him, and I grabbed them. She needed them to see just ... just ..."  
  
"Just like her precious baby boy needs them."  
  
"They were dead. I could hear them ... the paramedics and the museum workers. Geez, Jack, they didn't even pay attention to me. It was like I was invisible, and I guess I was. I don't think I said anything for a long time afterwards."  
  
"It's why you talk so much now ... making up for those quiet months."  
  
Jack was glad when Daniel smiled and teased, "Saving it for you."  
  
Daniel moved a couple of feet and knelt to the ground, his hand running along the cold floor.  
  
"This is where she was, and they pulled Daddy over there," Daniel pointed to a few feet away.  
  
"Blood was everywhere. They were crushed to death, Jack. It wasn't just a hit on the head. That stone ... it ... gawd ..."  
  
Jack hurried to Daniel and knelt down next to him, again providing the tactile reassurance Daniel needed to process his past.  
  
"You saw them, Danny? Like that?"  
  
Daniel nodded, and Jack became angry, but tried to suppress it. He desperately wanted to know why no one took care of that beautiful little boy. Why would anyone not keep him safe?  
  
"You shouldn't have seen that, Danny."  
  
"I always blended in with the background. I wasn't ... typical. When the cover stone fell, they all tried to get the stone off, and then the paramedics came, and the police ... and all the onlookers. No one noticed me ... not for a long time."  
  
Jack knew he wasn't going to like the answer to this, but he had to ask.  
  
"How long, Danny? How long before someone remembered there was a sweet boy who needed some love and attention?"  
  
The tears began to fall, and if Jack's heart wasn't breaking into a thousand pieces, he'd again want to kill someone.  
  
"When it closed. I was still here. They had turned out the lights, and one of the docents noticed me sitting by the wall."  
  
Daniel was fighting hard to hold on, but he was losing the battle. The tears continued to flow as his memories played out in front of him. His lower lip quivered as he tried to talk, his hands shaking as he moved them to accompany his speech.   
  
Jack never let Daniel go, his hands on Daniel's back and arms, his head and neck, wherever he could place them as he tried to ground his lover to the present with his touch.  
  
Jack didn't care who saw or heard them. There was only person in the world at the moment, and that person was Daniel, and Jack would get his soul mate through this if it killed him, and he thought it just might, his rage so strong at the injustice done to an innocent child that society had neglected.  
  
"Danny, what time did the accident happen?"  
  
"In the morning. The museum wasn't open yet for the day."  
  
"Are you telling me that you sat there all day, and no one paid any attention to you?"  
  
Daniel nodded as Jack tried to dry the tears with his hand. Daniel wished he had more control, but was just grateful there hadn't been any visitors walking by ... at least that he had noticed.  
  
Jack just didn't understand it. Daniel was a wonderful human being, a remarkable accomplishment since he'd practically raised himself. He'd seen the few photos that Daniel had from his all-too-brief childhood, and Daniel had been a cute little boy, just like Charlie. Jack just couldn't imagine how anyone could ignore a lost child like the people of New York had done with his Daniel.  
  
"Didn't they close off this section after the accident?"  
  
"Yes, but ... no one said anything to me. I knew they were dead, Jack."  
  
Daniel took his hands to try and wipe his tears, pushing away from Jack as he stood up.  
  
"Gawd, I'm such a mess."  
  
"No, but that little boy is finally saying goodbye, and good-byes can be ... tearful."  
  
Daniel inhaled and Jack worried he might never exhale but finally, Daniel breathed, and took a final look around.  
  
"I don't want to come here anymore."  
  
"You don't have to."  
  
"I used to feel them here."  
  
Jack walked up to Daniel, placing his hand over Daniel's heart, but before he could say the words, Daniel smiled, "I know. It's like you said before. They're in here, in my heart."  
  
"They'll live forever, Danny, because you love them and honor them every day."  
  
"Jack, they'd think I'm a crackpot too."  
  
"No, Danny ... no they wouldn't. You've read me some of those papers your father wrote. He was a free thinker. They'd be proud of you."  
  
"I'm not so sure."  
  
"I am. They taught you to learn, to see with more than your eyes, and to hear with more than your ears. They are proud of you. Trust me on this," Jack said with a cracked voice.  
  
Daniel looked around one more time, and whispered a barely audible "Goodbye. I ... I love you," and walked towards the main corridor, leaving Jack behind.   
  
The older man looked around for a minute, shaking his head, and whispered in his own barely audible tone, "It was a tragic choice. Why were you in such a hurry? Gawd, that little boy."  
  
Jack was about to become lost in a combination of anger and sorrow when he heard, "Jack, let's go," and turned to see Daniel watching him from the corridor.  
  
They meandered the hallways and were almost out of the building when they heard the voice of an older woman calling to them, "Wait, wait, please wait."  
  
Jack and Daniel turned, having no idea who she was or why she was calling to them.  
  
"Oh my. You gave me a start. I thought I wouldn't catch you."  
  
"Excuse me, Ma'am. Can we help you with something?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just ... I've been .... Well, I saw you," she said looking at Daniel, "in the room, and ... well, I didn't want to interrupt so I kept waiting, and then," the woman was still trying to catch her breath, "I went to the Ladies Room and when I came back, my goodness, you were gone. I was so upset, and then I saw you walking towards the exit. Thought I wouldn't make it."  
  
"Well, Ma'am, you did but ..."  
  
The gray-haired woman chuckled. She seemed jolly in spirit, was in her fifties, was about 5'5" and had brown eyes. Her voice was pleasant, inviting.  
  
"I'm sorry again. My name is Mary McClintock, and I used to volunteer here years ago. I know I'm right. I knew it the moment I saw you enter the exhibit, and then when you were standing," Mary's smile saddened, her demeanor sobering, "You're Claire's little boy ... Daniel, aren't you?"  
  
Daniel's mouth opened, doing that guppy fish face he did so well. He looked to Jack and back at the woman, stunned.  
  
"Yes, he is," Jack said extending his hand, "And I'm Jack O'Neill, a ..."  
  
"Yes, I saw," Mary smiled, causing Jack to cough a little, and Daniel to redden.  
  
"Oh, don't be embarrassed from my spying. I didn't mean to. Just wanted to talk to you before you left."  
  
"I ... I'm glad to meet you," Daniel said softly, reaching out as Jack had done to shake the woman's hand.  
  
"Claire and I had some classes together in college, and we kept in touch over the years. I was volunteering here when she and your father were working on the exhibit. I'm so sorry."  
  
"Were you here that day?"  
  
Mary sensed a tone in Jack's question, "You're very protective of him, aren't you?"  
  
Jack didn't flinch, "That doesn't answer my question."  
  
"No, Mr. O'Neill, I wasn't. Well, I was here for a short time very early in the morning. We talked, Daniel, you and I, for a couple of minutes. I don't suppose you remember?"  
  
Daniel shook his head.  
  
"Your parents brought you with them. They were anxious to get things set up and continue with their day."  
  
"Yes. They were in a hurry," Daniel said dejectedly, looking over towards the exit.  
  
"Claire and I chatted that morning while Mel was talking with the men helping with the cover stone. She ranted about you, Daniel. She was so proud of her ... oh what did she call you ... oh yes," the woman laughed, "her little Pharaoh. She said you were a wonder, smarter than she and Mel combined."  
  
Daniel fidgeted, not knowing what to say.  
  
"She just beamed, Daniel, telling me about how you helped Mel on the digs."  
  
"I don't know that I helped. It was more like getting in his way."  
  
"Oh no, no, no, no. Mel was equally thrilled with your interest in the digs. He knew you were a natural. Tell me, you have followed in their footsteps, haven't you?"  
  
"I ..."  
  
"Yes, he has. He's a multiple PHD -- archaeology, anthropology, and linguistics. They'd be very proud of Daniel's achievements."  
  
"As are you, Mr. O'Neill."  
  
Jack coughed again, but smiled back at Mary, his own way of acknowledging her comment.  
  
"Uh, it's Jack," he added as he continued to smile.  
  
Mary smiled her own acknowledgement before returning her focus to her friend's son.  
  
"Daniel, I was so upset when I heard. I had come by specifically to talk with Claire about their plans for the rest of the week so we could try and spend an evening together, and then I had classes and appointments for the rest of the day. I didn't find out what had happened until two days later when I came to do my shift."  
  
Mary paused studying her friend's son, "You've had a difficult time, haven't you?"  
  
Seeing Daniel's uneasiness, Mary continued, "I wish I could say something to make it better, but life has a way of making words seem so inadequate. But, if I could say anything to try and help, it would be that Claire loved you more than life. She was so excited that morning, said the three of you were going to the Zoo that afternoon and some amusement park if they got through early enough."  
  
"Zoo?"  
  
"Amusement park?" Jack asked with a tone of wonder in his voice.  
  
Daniel and Jack had spoken at the same time, both looking at each other.  
  
"Oh, yes. Claire told me that she and Mel wanted you to see something other than a camel," Mary laughed, "and apparently Mel thought it was time you rode something other than a camel."  
  
Jack laughed, which earned him a slight leer from his lover.  
  
"She told me they weren't sure how long they would be here ... I mean in the United States before starting the next project, and they felt guilty about you not having all those normal experiences, so they were going to make the most of it while they had the chance, just as soon as they got the exhibit set up."  
  
Mary let out a sad sigh, "I guess they were in a bit too much of a hurry; but they loved you, Daniel, and I guess that's why I stopped you today. I wanted to make sure you knew that, that you were so much in Claire's thoughts that morning, and how excited she was ... and Mel, too.'  
  
"Thank you, Mary."  
  
"One more thing," Mary said, pulling out a business card, "I have some photos of Mel and Claire, not many, just a few, but ... well, Claire gave me a roll of film to develop for her the day before she ... ah, I'm ashamed to say that with classes and my volunteer duties, I never took the film to be developed, and then they died.   
  
"But I could never throw away the film. I don't know if it's any good after all these years, nor do I know what's on it, but if you want it, give me a call or write me, and I'll send it to you."  
  
Daniel smiled and thanked the woman, and then she left.  
  
"Gawd, Jack. The Zoo."  
  
"Rides ... I knew your parents were okay people," Jack teased carefully.  
  
"But ..."  
  
"No guilt trips, Danny. What Mary said proves they loved you, and that they wanted you to have a full childhood. The choice was still theirs, not yours. Don't you dare go there."  
  
Daniel flinched but nodded, and then Jack steered him out of the museum and towards their hotel where they spent a cozy night together snuggling and talking about anything but museums and cover stones.  
  
====  
  
Saturday was another day of lectures and posturing. To Jack, it seemed as if everyone was trying to outdo the other, listening only superficially to other people's opinions and discoveries, before launching in with some sort of "but when I ..." retort.  
  
Jack was frustrated at not being able to open the eyes of those in the room, the ones being "polite" to Daniel, but never looking at him, just over him, looking for someone "better" to talk to, someone more acceptable in Academia.  
  
Later in the day, the professor Daniel had come to see had invited Daniel to his suite to catch up. Jack had been invited, but he decided he'd let Daniel revel in some respect on his own, and Jack would catch up with ESPN.  
  
At 4:15 p.m., Jack decided to take a brisk walk in Central Park. He figured by the time he got back, Daniel would be finished visiting and ready to eat. Jack was already hungry, having had a light lunch.  
  
Dressed in his brown sweats, Jack took the stairs down to the lobby. He ambled the hallways for a while, looking at a couple of the shops, and reviewing the menus of two of the five restaurants in the hotel.   
  
As he walked one of the quieter areas, he heard laughter ... and he recognized it as coming from his lover. Curious, Jack followed the sweet sound he cherished, but his cherishing stopped when he saw what was happening.  
  
"Oh, Daniel, you have such a magic touch."  
  
Daniel shrugged as he smiled, "Is it helping?"  
  
"Oh yes, definitely helping."  
  
Daniel started to stop when Jill began to tense and sound as if she was in pain, grabbing for the calf of her left leg.  
  
"I'm sorry, maybe I should get a doctor."  
  
"No, no, just don't stop. It feels so good when you touch it like that," Jill said with a grin that Jack was sure must have showed all of her teeth.  
  
Jack watched as Daniel returned to his position, kneeling in front of the seated blonde, his hands gently rubbing back and forth on her calf, massaging tenderly as he did so.  
  
"I love your hands, Daniel ... so sensitive and strong," Jill sighed, causing Daniel to blush slightly.  
  
Jill reached down and put her hand atop Daniel's right hand, "Thank you for helping me. I'll be forever grateful, and I absolutely insist on doing something for you."  
  
That was it. Jack's cool had flamed and was ready to boil over.  
  
"Daniel," the older man barked.  
  
"Hi, Jack, I was just ..."  
  
"... having fun?"  
  
"Isn't he wonderful?" Jill said, with just the right innocent smile and cock of her head as she gazed at the younger man.  
  
"Yes, he's wonderful," Jack said as he pulled his lover up by taking hold of his arms.  
  
"Jack, what the heck are you doing?"  
  
"Protecting you from she-wolves. Think faraway princesses, Daniel."  
  
Daniel glared, "Stop it, Jack."  
  
Jack still had a hold on Daniel's left forearm, and the younger man had to take his own right hand to push Jack's hands off of him.  
  
"She had a cramp, and I was just ..."  
  
"I saw what you were 'just' and there was nothing 'just' about it."   
  
"Jack, don't be ridiculous."  
  
"I'm not."  
  
"Are too."  
  
"Am not."  
  
"Defintely are."  
  
"Oh no I'm not."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Jack, this is insane," Daniel said turning around in a circle wishing he had something to kick.  
  
"Excuse me, can I have my shoe?"  
  
It was only then that Jack realized he had picked up the woman's shoe and had been flaunting it in Daniel's face.  
  
With indignation in his voice and green in his eyes, Jack's raised voice commanded, "Take this," handing her the shoe, "your fake cramps, your gushing smile, and your school girl crush and GO A-WAY."  
  
"Jack, stop acting like an idiot."  
  
"Honey, how about you and I let Gramps yell at himself. My leg could still use some care, and ... I know I can make it up to you," Jill said seductively.  
  
"Oh, I don't think so ... HONEY," Jack said, yanking Daniel away from her and towards him."  
  
"Jack, I am NOT a ping pong ball, and believe it or not, I have a mind. STOP IT ... NOW!"  
  
"Come on, Daniel. Let's leave him," Jill tugged against Daniel's right arm, trying to move him out of the small cubby hole towards the back of the hotel where the fight was taking place.  
  
"DANIEL! You are so NOT going anywhere with that Monroe wannabe."  
  
As Daniel closed his eyes, not sure how exactly his day had gone from miserable to reasonably okay and then to decrepit. He slowly headed for the door, not really intending to leave, but wanting space between the two warring parties.  
  
But then Jack grabbed him and laid on him what Daniel had started to call the O'Neill Special, a long, hard, lingering kiss, the one that always turned Daniel's knees to Jell-O, the one that shot his brain cells into smithereens, the one that took away his vocal chords. This edition was a whopper, one where Jack's passion added a big batch of possessiveness.  
  
In spite of his best intentions, Daniel's arms had shot up to Jack's neck, his fingers playing with the ends of Jack's hair, his body so close to Jack that they could probably be arrested.  
  
Jill watched, looking like the guppy that Daniel sometimes did, her mouth open, eyes wide. Her voice had gone. She stared and stared and stared as the kiss went on and on and on until finally, Jack released his captive, totally pleased with himself. Daniel was his, and Jack was sure of it ... and he had just made sure Jill was sure of it too ... or so he had hoped.  
  
Daniel stood close to his lover, breathing hard, still suffering the after effects. Jack was sure he'd won the argument, but then, Daniel backed away, pushing Jack back as he himself moved back several steps.  
  
"No, Jack ... it's not that easy," Daniel headed for the doorway.  
  
"You so aren't going anywhere with that girl," Jack warned, pointing at Jill, who wasn't as thrown by the kiss as Jack had wanted her to be.  
  
"You don't own me, Jack."  
  
"I didn't say I did."  
  
"Then what was that all about?"  
  
"If I have to explain it to you, then it really doesn't matter, does it?"  
  
"You're so full of it. Where do you get off treating me like some piece of meat?"  
  
"You're exaggerating."  
  
"Am I? Sure looked to me like you were staking your claim -- mine. You should have beaten your chest, Jack, sounded the mating call ... like some prehistoric caveman."  
  
"Oh for crying out loud. You kissed me back, and you can't deny that. It couldn't have been that unpleasant for you the way you were moaning and your tongue was dueling for equal time and right of passage."  
  
"You deserve better, Daniel," Jill cooed.  
  
"Shut up!" Both Jack and Daniel said in unison, stunning the blonde and frustrating both of the men.  
  
"Daniel, you're too innocent for your own good. She wants you."  
  
"So?"  
  
"She was touching you."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So? SO? ... So I didn't like it. You're ..."  
  
"I'm what, Jack? Go on ... say it!"  
  
"Oh for ..."  
  
"SAY IT ..."  
  
"You're mine. Is that what you want to hear? Fine ... I'll say it again. YOU'RE MINE ... but it works both ways, Daniel."  
  
"Yeah, right."  
  
"Oh, Daniel, he's such a beast. Let me take care of you tonight. Come on and I'll ..."  
  
Jack glared at the blonde. This was his best death and intimidation look, the one that had Marines quaking ... and it was the one that finally connected with the brazen blonde, who took a step back. Jack returned his focus to Daniel.  
  
"Yeah right what?" Jack asked.  
  
"Nothing Jack ... nothing at all. Just ... leave it alone."  
  
"Fine ... let's go."  
  
"No, I think ... I think we owe Jill an apology for this little scene."  
  
"I'm free for dinner," Jill perked.  
  
"Oh, I don't think so. Daniel, if I have to pick you up and carry you out of here, I will. Don't think I won't."  
  
Daniel stared. He was shutting down, tired of fighting, tired of not being believed and trusted and respected. He had expected that from the so-called colleagues, but not from Jack.  
  
"Let's go, Daniel," Jack said as he nudged Daniel's arm.  
  
"No, Jack. I don't follow orders well, especially in a relationship that is supposed to be a partnership and not a dictatorship."  
  
"You and me ... or you and the gusher?"  
  
"That's rude."  
  
"Oh for the love of ..."  
  
"Good night, Jack," Daniel turned and walked away.  
  
"Fine. Walk away, see if I care. Let her do what Shyla did, only this time I won't be around to pick up the pieces."  
  
Totally clueless but happy to have "won," Jill put her arms in Daniel's and beamed back at Jack as she began rambling in Daniel's ear as they walked out of the room, leaving Jack huffing and puffing to an empty space.  
  
====  
  
Jack was packed and changed into a blue shirt and pepperstone jeans. He had cursed the entire time he had packed. He did a quick double check, took the elevator down to the lobby where he checked out, and then walked out of the hotel, where the doorman hailed him a cab to the airport.  
  
"We're here, Mac. You gonna get out or sit there all day?"  
  
"I haven't decided."  
  
"Well, decide, or I'm putting the meter back on."  
  
Jack reached for the handle of the door, and then swore again.  
  
"Take me back to the hotel."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me. I want to go back to the hotel."  
  
The yellow cab driver raised his eyebrows as he did as instructed.  
  
====  
  
"He's such a brut," Jill said as she and Daniel stood in the hotel's atrium, Daniel's arms self-hugging.  
  
"Come on, Honey. You don't need him, some old grizzly bear who treats you like a toy."  
  
Daniel's head snapped to his left to face Jill, but he said nothing, walking to a large plant, reaching out to touch and examine it. Jill joined him, her fingers walking up Daniel's arm, to his neck, and then she put her hand on his chest as she began to lean in to kiss his neck.  
  
"Stop ... I mean, no," Daniel back away, walking hurriedly to a window.  
  
Jill would not be deterred, "I don't believe for one minute, Daniel, that you are so hung up on men that you'd refuse what I'm offering. I'd be good for you, Daniel, so good," she slid the back of her hand down Daniel's cheek, and along his torso, and then stopping at his waist, switching to a side-to-side caress.  
  
Daniel tensed and yelled, "Stop pawing me."  
  
"But Daniel ..."  
  
"No ... you don't even know me. Jack ... Jack does ... the good and the bad. He ... he loves me."  
  
"He sure has a funny way of showing it, shoving you around like that, yelling, making you kiss him."  
  
"He ... he didn't make me."  
  
"It sure looked like it from where I was standing. That was a pretty tight grip."  
  
Daniel shook his head.  
  
"Don't be naive, Daniel. He was holding you hostage."  
  
"No, he wasn't. He just ... he ... he wasn't forcing me to do anything. He'd never do that, not Jack."  
  
Daniel felt sick. He wished he could curl up in a ball and get lost somewhere.  
  
"Daniel ..."  
  
"I'm sorry. I love him, and nothing else really matters. I'm sorry," Daniel backed slowly out of the room and headed for Jack's room, finding it deserted, a maid changing the sheets.   
  
The young man's heart stopped. He had lost his lover. Jack had left him; he had finally had enough of Daniel. His head bowed, studying the floor as he walked, Daniel returned to his room and threw himself on the bed, wondering why he had ever come to New York City. Nothing good ever happened to Daniel Jackson in the large metropolis, and Daniel decided he would never again come back.  
  
====  
  
"What do you mean you don't have a room? I just checked out an hour ago."  
  
"I understand that, but we have several conventions in town this weekend, and we've been booked solid for weeks. The reservation you got was from a last minute cancellation, and when you checked out, there was someone waiting for a room. I'm truly sorry. Can I help you find an accommodation at another hotel?"  
  
"NO," Jack grabbed his bags and headed for the elevator, the desk clerk confused by his actions.  
  
Jack grumbled the entire ride up the elevator, and then he stomped down the hotel floor, cursing as he walked past the room that was once his, and finally, he sighed. With his bag in his left hand, his coat in his right, Jack knocked on the door and knocked and knocked.  
  
Finally, Daniel opened the door, automatically saying "I don't ..." and then stopping as he saw his lover standing there.  
  
Jack smiled weakly, "They gave away my room. I'm ... homeless. I don't suppose you know where there's a bed I could share?"  
  
"You might try Jill."  
  
Jack nodded several times and sighed, "But I'm not in love with Jill."  
  
"Neither am I."  
  
"So ... about that bed ..."  
  
Daniel lowered his head, slowly turning toward the inside of the room, leaving the door ajar, which Jack looked up and thanked his lucky stars for. He tossed his coat and luggage near the chair and walked to Daniel who was standing by the chair of the little hotel desk. His hands were rubbing against the chair's walnut finish.  
  
"Danny, if I touch you, are you going to hit me?"  
  
Not looking at Jack, the young man shook his head.  
  
"If I hold you, are you going to think I don't respect you?"  
  
Again, Daniel shook his head.  
  
"Are you going to make me sleep on this uncomfortable very small sofa?"  
  
"It opens up to a bed," Daniel finally spoke softly.  
  
"Are you going to make me sleep on this very uncomfortable springy small sofa bed that might as well be miles away from where I really want to be?"  
  
Daniel shook his head, and Jack smiled, finally approaching Daniel from behind, sighing at the contact, as did his lover.  
  
"Geez, Danny, I'm so ... I don't know what happened to me."  
  
"You were jealous."  
  
"Ya think?"  
  
Daniel nodded against Jack's left shoulder, his hands resting on Jack's as the older man toyed with his lover's smooth skin.  
  
"Jack, I love you. Why can't you believe that?"  
  
"Because you're smart and beautiful and could have anyone you wanted, and ... sometimes, I just wonder why me."  
  
"But I love you, Jack, just you. Why is that ..." Daniel suddenly tensed, "Gawd, Jack ... I ... I forgot about ... Jack?"  
  
"It's okay, Danny. It's ... hard to live in two worlds. Don't worry, I know it's understood ... you love Sha're. She's your wife, and we're going to get her back."  
  
Daniel turned and stared at his lover, he raised his hands and completely traced Jack's face, his fingers moving around the ends of Jack's short hair, touching his eyes and eyebrows, running down over his nose, and brushing his fingers along Jack's lips.  
  
"I never knew I could feel like this. It scares me."  
  
"Me, too. I'm so sorry, Danny. I was jealous out of my mind. I don't even know what I said, but ... but whatever it was, and I'm sure it was bad ... geez, I'm sorry."  
  
"That was quite a kiss, Jack."  
  
"Ya think?" Jack grinned.  
  
"You were ... quite the caveman."  
  
Jack lips sought out his lover's. It was brief, a quick swipe, and then they bore into each other. There would be no more words aside from cries of "Yes," "Love you" and other one syllable words of passion as they fused their bodies together, grounding into each other, reminding themselves of just how good their love could be. The caveman and his conquest would not rest until 4 a.m. the following morning, having spent hour after hour solidifying their nation of two.  
  
====  
  
"Geez Danny, you are ... incredible. My Energizer Bunny. You may kill me," Jack gasped.  
  
"Want gauawah ... Kill? Yessssssss ... bunny monkey no ... just ... hmmm ... mot'vated," Daniel attempted to speak, totally lost in the aftermath of an orgasm he had never ever conceived of in his lifetime.  
  
Jack thought long and hard trying to decipher his lover's words. He shook his head, wishing he had Daniel's genius. However, he was also determined to become the one and only expert in the language of Daniel Jackson.  
  
"Danny, what's gauawah?"  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"Daniel, Love ... gauawah?"  
  
"Yes, please ... no sug yawn 'r."  
  
Jack was totally lost. He was determined to figure it out though.  
  
"No Sug ... sugar? You don't want sugar?"  
  
"No ... nev'r," Daniel smacked his lips and that gave Jack his clue.  
  
"Coffee! You want coffee?"  
  
"Said that already, Jack. Pay attention."  
  
"Oh, so now you can speak. I'm still trying to figure out what you said before."  
  
"No idea," Daniel settled his head against his lover's chest and smiled.  
  
"Comfy. Love my Jack pillow."  
  
Jack smiled, feeling warm from his lover's body, "Love my Danny blanket," Jack replied softly, taking a moment to let the sensations of having his lover's body so close to him tingle.   
  
Daniel had one leg hooked between Jack's, his head solidly on the older man's chest, and his left arm draped possessively around him. It felt so good, so natural.   
  
"Good night my Energizer Bunny."  
  
"Not a bunny or a monkey."  
  
Jack grinned, everything falling into place. Daniel had whined about the use of the bunny nickname, comparing it to Space Monkey. Jack realized the younger man was also saying that he wasn't a bunny, but had just been motivated during their lovemaking. Jack had been, too! And Daniel had wanted coffee, but since he had fallen asleep, Jack figured it could wait. He placed a kiss on his lover's head and let sleep take him.  
  
====  
  
When Daniel awoke, he was alone, and that panicked him, "Jack? Jack where are you?"  
  
"Hey, right here, Love," Jack walked in, a big smile on his face as he sat down next to his lover.  
  
"Gawd, Jack, please don't do that ... not after ... I mean ..."  
  
Daniel had worried that his lover had had a change of heart. When he woke up alone, he had assumed the worst, that he had been abandoned once again.  
  
"I'm sorry, Love," Jack caressed Daniel's cheek and realized he had made a goof by not getting back into bed after he had finished his task.  
  
Jack lifted Daniel to him, kissing him tenderly.  
  
"I had to make a couple of phone calls. Didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry, Babe. Forgive me," Jack begged as his tongue entered Daniel's mouth reaching for new depths.  
  
"I love you, Danny, so friggin' much. Come on ... take a shower. We only have a few hours before the plane leaves.  
  
A while later, Daniel emerged, dressed, and about to suggest they get a bagel or something for breakfast, but he never had the chance. He stood speechless at the doorway, as a delightful tray of breakfast foods awaited him.   
  
But it wasn't the food that had floored him as much as his lover walking towards him with the most perfect red rose Daniel had ever seen.  
  
"For you, My Love," Jack spoke as he handed the rose to Daniel and leaned in for a quick kiss.  
  
"No one ... I've never been given a rose before," Daniel said softly.  
  
"Get used to it, Love. You're my rose, and I know sometimes I can be a thorn in your side, but I swear, Danny, I just ... I love you so much, and I don't understand how I could be this lucky, that you'd ... that you'd love me."  
  
Jack took his left hand to caress Daniel's cheek, and the young man leaned into it, and sighed, "Gawd, Jack, you make me feel so ... so ..."  
  
"Cherished? Loved? Treasured? You're all of those things to me, and more, and maybe some day I'll figure out how to tell you properly, but for now ... I offer you a rose, and this old grumpy grizzly body ... and I promise I'll try not to growl too much. I owe you an apology, Daniel. I'm sorry."  
  
Daniel sniffed the pleasant aroma of the red rose and smiled, and then raised his arms around Jack, the rose still in his hand.  
  
"I love you, Jack. Thank you."  
  
"Eat," Jack said after another kiss.  
  
====  
  
"Back to the Mountain," Jack chirped as he picked up his bag and coat. Daniel was right behind with his luggage. Unlike Jack, Daniel had two pieces, plus a tote, full of things acquired during the lecture.  
  
"Wait, Jack," Daniel wasn't sure how to maneuver.  
  
He dropped one bag and went over to pick up his rose, smelling it again. Jack saw his lover smile and that made him smile.  
  
Daniel returned to Jack's side.  
  
"You're beautiful, Danny," Jack said totally serious.  
  
Daniel blushed, making Jack smile yet again.  
  
"Geez I love it when you do that. So beautiful," Jack crooned into Daniel's ear, causing the one man to shiver.  
  
"Jack, we won't get to the Mountain and Hammond will have your hide if you keep doing that."  
  
"Okay, let's go."  
  
Daniel looked down, still not sure how to go about it, "Jack?"  
  
"I love you, Danny, for caring so much about a rose."  
  
"You gave it to me, Jack. I love it ... like I love you."  
  
Jack took Daniel's other suitcase, and the tote bag.  
  
"I can carry that."  
  
"No, you keep that rose safe. It needs you safe and unencumbered, because if it's me, then your its heart, because you sure are my heart."  
  
"Who said you were bad with words? I love you, Jack O'Neill."  
  
"I love you, Daniel Jackson."  
  
They stood for a few moments, staring into each other's eyes, their looks saying so much more than words could ever express.  
  
====  
  
The next day, Hammond was glad to see his 2IC less the grizzly and more the Colonel, though he had insisted on taking a long lunch, refusing to explain, but Hammond sensed disaster if he didn't go along, so he postponed the scheduled meeting until Jack's return.  
  
Jack and Daniel had spent Sunday night making love and talking about their trip. Jack had apologized so much that Daniel had threatened him that if he uttered one more apology he'd be sleeping alone. Jack didn't utter another apology, at least not with words.  
  
They had also talked about meeting Mary and Daniel's feelings about finally letting go of the disaster that had happened in front of him all those years ago, the tragic death of his beloved parents.  
  
--  
  
"They loved me, Jack."  
  
"Yes, they did."  
  
"So do you."  
  
"No doubt about it."  
  
"I want to go back again sometime, not to mourn, but to remember and honor them."  
  
"You honor them every day, Danny. They couldn't have asked for a better son. Trust me on this. I know what I'm talking about."  
  
"Thank you, Jack."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Aggravating Hammond."  
  
"Anytime, Daniel. Anytime at all."  
  
--  
  
Jack and Daniel had driven in together, and had decided to spend the night at Daniel's. They picked up some Chinese on the way home and as they walked towards the apartment, Daniel couldn't help but notice the giant grin on Jack's face.  
  
"Jack, why are you grinning like that?"  
  
"Because."  
  
"Very informative."  
  
Jack kept grinning as they took the elevator up. Daniel didn't know what to think as Jack whistled his way through the hallway.  
  
Finally, Daniel slid the key in the lock and opened the door.   
  
"Put the food o ... o ... oh my ... Jack?"  
  
Jack folded his arms around Daniel and kissed his nape, "I wanted to do this in New York, but we were leaving."  
  
Daniel was totally taken aback. He slowly walked into his beautifully scented apartment, now full of roses, red, white, and yellow, some in bunches, some standing alone. They were on the table, the counter, on the piano, laying on the bookshelves, taped to the refrigerator, on the mantle, and even all around the fish tank.  
  
The young man was so focused on scanning the room, he didn't see Jack disappear into the bedroom or hurry back to the living room after a minute or two.  
  
Then Daniel noticed the trail of flower petals leading to the hallway. He followed them in the bedroom which was draped in red roses, the bed covered with rose petals. Daniel felt his eyes moisten, and he whispered with all the voice he could, "J'ck?"  
  
Jack put his strong arms around his love.  
  
"My beautiful rose ... I love you, love you so much."   
  
A sniffle later, Daniel turned and saw the trail of rose petals led to the bathroom. There were candles, all around, lit, and he saw some scented oils and more roses everywhere he could see.  
  
"I have plans for us tonight," Jack crooned, holding Daniel, "Sure hope you aren't cemented into watching that documentary."  
  
"What documentary? Never heard of it. Gawd I love you, Jack. Thank you ... thank you."  
  
The two began to kiss, their Chinese food forgotten as they ambled towards the bathroom, and another fusion of their bodies, one that would stay with them both for a very long time as they left the echoes of their pasts far behind them.  
  
~~Finis - Finished - Done - The End - But is it ever Really?~~ 


End file.
